Get Started Right

I am going to lay out 11 things that will give you the edge you need to be successful at making your health goals a reality. This will help you get started the right way to quick results and a healthier body. Getting in shape does not have to be complicated. By following these easy steps you will achieve what most fail to accomplish. Whatever your fitness goals, these steps will apply to you.

Write Down Your Why Statement

The first thing you need to know is why you are going to do this in the first place. You need to ask yourself this question until you get to a reason that will motivate you at your center. What is going to get you out of bed in the morning when you are so sore that you can’t roll over and slept like crap the night before cause everything hurts? What is going to get you to not cheat on your diet despite the constant peer pressure and temptations that WILL be there?

You will need to dig down deep inside your emotions and find out why you are going to put yourself through this. Once you figure it out write it down and put is somewhere you will see it every day. If you don’t have a serious emotional connection to this you will not reach your goals. This is called a “WHY” statement. Read it often and it will keep you motivated and moving forward.

Decide what is more important to you, a small brief moment of satisfaction or a longer life of confidence and an improved self-image. Once you have this written down put is somewhere you will see it every morning. Maybe on the bathroom mirror. Read it often and keep it visible. This will help you stay motivated and by reminding you what you are really working for.

Find Sources of Motivation

You need to have some degree of self-motivation. I don’t sugar coat things, this is going to be challenging. Those that have tried this before know exactly what I am talking about. You will need to get your mind right and have a determination that you possibly have never had before. If you are self-motivated from the beginning you will have a tremendous advantage and your chance of success will skyrocket. This does not mean you are always excited to workout. It means you find ways to motivate yourself when you need it to get you through.

The great part is you don’t have to do this alone. I have an entire page on Motivation setup for you when you need it. Visit it often and get back in the game as soon as you can. I cannot make you get out of bed in the morning and workout. I cannot force motivation upon you. But I will help you regain that desire as much as I can. Ultimately you will have to find the motivation inside yourself and make the decision that you are done feeling sorry for yourself, that you are sick and tired of being sick and tired all the time, that you are ready to live the life you were born to live. A long life of confidence, happiness, health and fulfillment.

Join a Support Group

Support from others is very important. Find people that are doing what you are doing. Working together as a group will allow you to get extra support and motivation when you need it most. You will be able to talk to others going through the same things you are going through. It is a great way to stay accountable and get encouragement when you are thinking about quitting.

You can join our community on Facebook to get this kind of support. These groups are private and are by invitation only. There are also some requirements that must be met before you are allowed to join. Remember that these groups are designed to support you in creating that healthy lifestyle. It takes tremendous effort to answer all the questions and provide that support. So if you are not serious about doing your best to make that lifestyle change than you are not invited to join. If you are serious then you need the right tools to succeed.

Shakeology provides so many health benefits that it is on my highly recommended list. It’s super easy and quick to make which helps when I am in a hurry. It gives me no room for excuses to not get my fruits and veggie servings in for the day. It really makes it easy to eat right.

Read my post on Shakeology nutrition to learn more about why Shakeology is so highly recommended.

Get a Coach

What is a coach? When I first heard the term I thought of someone with a whistle yelling at me and getting all up in my face when I wasn’t performing to their expectations. Thank goodness this is not the kind of coach that I are talking about here.

I am referring to a coach as someone who teaches, guides, and encourages. Someone you can ask question about nutrition, fitness or whatever you need. With a coach you will avoid costly mistakes and pitfalls along your journey to a healthier life. You will see quicker results and be more likely to achieve your goals.

I first started P90X in the winter of 2010. I worked hard trying to lose the extra weight I gained from eating fatty food and being lazy. After a month or so I started feeling like I really wasn’t getting the results that I was working for. I wanted to see more of a change from the work that I was putting in and didn’t know what I could do to get that. I later discovered that my nutrition was the problem. I was having a serious problem figuring out what to eat, how much and when to eat. I have since learned all of those things but through trial and error. (Read my post on How Many Calories Should I Eat?) I wasted time figuring out how to get the results, when I should have been worrying about more important things like what style of pants to buy after I lost all the weight.

Learn from those who have already been through the process and know how to maximize results, get a coach.

There are a couple of ways to get a coach.

1. Take the professional route and sign up for a gym membership and hire a personal trainer.

I actually have done this for me and my wife. It was costing us over $160 a month. We did this for almost a year seeing the trainer once a week. The education I received on how to exercise was great, my results were not. Mainly because I had problems getting my lazy butt to the gym. We also contemplated seeing a nutritionist to help us with our diet but quickly realized we did not have the money for that and decided to just keep trying to eat right on our own.

2. Take the non-professional route and let me be your coach.

I started coaching after I finished my third round of P90X which was in early 2013. I want to help people avoid making the mistakes that I did and provide support that will allow them to get results fast. If I can help others and provide for my family at the same time then that would be the perfect career in my mind. I coach in my spare time when I am not fighting fire or playing with my kids. My real motivation to do this is to be able to be with my family more. I fight wild land fire in the summer which usually means I am not home for about 5 to 6 months. I miss my wife’s birthday every year because it’s in July and that is the time the season gets in full swing. I want to be there for my family so I started coaching. I believe in the Beachbody programs and in Shakeology. I just feel better when I take it. I would not be recommending these products to others if they didn’t work.

Just so you know I make money through commissions when people purchase from my blog. I don’t bill for time spent writing posts, managing support groups or even for the personal one on one time I spend with people. When someone clicks a link, and if Jared Stephens is listed as their coach, and they buy something I get credit. so if you need the support, education and are okay with me making a little commission make me your coach and lets work together to make your dreams a reality.

Workout at Home

There is nothing more convenient then working out at your own home. You invest once for the program and maybe a couple pieces of equipment and then you are ready to go without stopping. If you have a gym membership that is great but what is one of the first things you cut out of your budget when money is tight? That would be a gym membership. Working out is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Same goes for eating healthy. It is not more expensive to eat healthy. It is more expensive to try to eat healthy and continue to eat the food that is bad for you. Eating bad food and healthy food at the same time is expensive.

An in home fitness program is a tool that you need to get the results you are looking for in the least amount of time. You can work out whenever and where ever you want. They even come with their own nutrition guide. Beachbody makes some of the best in home fitness programs in the world not because they sell a lot but because they actually work. I will never recommend something that I don’t believe in and have not done myself. I continue to use these programs to this day and have seen great results from them.

Have the Right Equipment

When you invest in a program you will notice that some equipment may be required. The program you choose will determine what equipment you need. Some programs require more equipment then others. For example if your choice is Body Beast you need at a minimum a:

Understand Nutrition

Nutrition is more important than the actual exercise routine. I have heard that 80% of the results come from nutrition and about 20% come from the exercise. With my experience of losing 35 pounds with P90X I agree with the percentages. As I mentioned before one of the best part about getting an exercise program from Beachbody is that each one comes with a specific diet guide to make nutrition as easy as reading the diet guide handbook. They have everything mapped out and easy to follow including recipes and other tips on eating right. One of my problems when I first started was I didn’t follow the diet guide. Don’t make the same mistake I did. Follow your nutrition guide.

Be Willing to Fail and Keep Trying

You need to realize that you are not going to be perfect at this. Working out and eating right are not easy things to do consistently. If it were, America would not have an obesity problem, everyone would be in much better shape and IN-N-OUT would be out of business.

Do not get down on yourself when you don’t quite stick to your nutrition plan or miss a workout. Negativity will not help you. Stay positive recommit to doing better at the next meal or working out tomorrow. Visit my Motivation Page for those small moments of weakness. Get connected to your support group and most of all keep trying. You only fail when you give up.

Track Your Calories

Knowing how many calories you are eating is critical to your success. If you eat nothing but healthy whole foods all the time but eat 3500 calories a day you will still gain weight. MyFitnessPal.com is a free resource you can use to track what you eat and how that translates into calories consumed. If you want to succeed you will need to know how many calories you are eating so you can make adjustments in your diet. This way there is no guessing and you are sure to be exact.

Find Ways to Save

You need to have the money to invest in the program, nutrition, and equipment. Living a happy healthier life is the whole point to all of this and when you are investing in something that is going to add years to your life and give you that feeling of accomplishment the decision is not, should I invest, but how to invest.

There are two ways to invest wisely.

Bundle with Challenge packs which include:

The program of choice

Shakeology

A Coach

Access to a customized meal planner

The opportunity to get the 25% coach discount

You will save money when you invest in all of these items at once rather than individually. There are different prices for certain challenge packs so the amount will depend on what program you want to start with. This Challenge Pack discount is not available to coaches so even I can’t get these discounts. I however do get a 25% discount on any item Beachbody offers.

2. Get the 25% off coach discount.

When you invest in a challenge pack you have the option to be a coach yourself. If you say yes then you will get the 25% discount on everything you buy from Beachbody, like I do, at no additional cost. You will also have the option to take that opportunity of being a coach to the next level and make a little money with it. This last option of making a little money selling Beachbody products is not for everyone but it’s still an option you may want to consider. There is nothing wrong with just signing up as a coach to get the 25% discount. People do it all the time and in fact that is how I got started in the very beginning. You are not obligated to work or try and sell this stuff in any way if you sign up as a coach. However if making a little money on the side sounds good to you visit my page “How To Get Your Products Paid For” to learn more.

What’s the catch? What most people will not tell you is that there is a $16 monthly coaching fee that applies to anyone who agrees to become a coach. You obviously would have to agree to this before they process the payment but it’s something you need to be aware of. If you buy a challenge pack and agree to be a coach you will pay for the challenge pack itself and $16 a month after that. Remember this is only if you say yes to being a coach and getting the 25% discount. You are not required to become a coach if you by a challenge pack.

Even after paying the $16 a month coach fee you will still be saving money if you are ordering Shakeology every month. I pay $103.36 for my Shakeology every month including taxes and on top of that I pay my coach fee of $15.95. Add the two together and the total is $119.31. The regular retail price of Shakeology is $129.95. A total savings of $10.64. So it’s worth it to me to have the option to make a little money and get my Shakeology a little cheaper. You decide what makes sense to you.

Last one: the ultimate key to your success

Educate Yourself/Personal Development

In time you will naturally learn things about nutrition and how to best get the results you want with your own body. However there are a lot of other things out there that you can learn that will continue to help make life a little easier. Stay plugged into an education source and learn as much as you can. Not only will this help you but you can pass on the education to family and friends that may need it. Bookmark my blog, pin it or share it on Facebook and let’s give people the tools they need to succeed at living a healthier lifestyle.

Summing it all up

The quickest way to get what you need is through a Challenge Pack the only thing is it may not include all the equipment you need like the pull up bar. Don’t forget to read the post about what equipment you need so you have an idea of what other items you need to invest in if any.

If you already have a Beachbody program then you just need the Shakeology to get you access to the Facebook support group.

Okay it’s time to get started. If not now than when. If you wait until everything is perfect than you will never get started. Life will never be perfect, but you can start today to make it a little better. Click Here to get started